More to Learn: There's always something new to discover, if you only look.

Historical fiction, hope in a Mumbai slum, a new way to eat and the dirt on earthworms. May you truly enjoy this month’s picks!

By Susan Swagler

Remarkable Creatures By Tracy Chevalier (Penguin)In 1810, a brother and sister found a fossilized skull of an unknown animal in the cliffs off the southern coast of England. Mary Anning was that girl, and, by age 12, she had discovered the first complete specimen of an ichthyosaur. Bestselling historical novelist Tracy Chevalier tells her story, and it’s not only a story of scientific discovery, it’s also about how Mary’s discoveries challenged the accepted notions of the world and how it was created. Class differences play a big role here as Mary finds herself ostracized for her eccentric habits, and, for friendship, she turns to Elizabeth Philpot, an upper-class spinster and recent exile from London who shares Mary’s fascination with finding old things on the beach. Readers will consider issues of gender, too, as Mary’s unique talent for finding these remarkable creatures puts her in close contact (but always at a remove) with the male-dominated, middle- and upper-class scientific community.

By Katherine Boo (Random House)Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Katherine Boo spent three years reporting on a handful of families scrounging their livings (and simply trying to stay alive) in one of the world’s most unequal cities. Set in the slum of Annawadi, in the shadow of the Mumbai airport, this work of nonfiction reads like a novel and mainly tells the story of Abdul, an enterprising Muslim teenager who provides for his family of 11 by recycling garbage rich people throw away. Business is good, and Abdul see trash recycling as his family’s ticket out of the slums. But when Abdul and his father and sister are wrongly accused of a horrible crime, things quickly begin to fall apart. Then, when the global recession rocks the entire city, we see, with heartbreaking clarity, just where individual dreams and global prospects intersect. It sounds grim, but there’s humor here also. Read this book for its insightful, informative look at life in a hidden world we can only imagine.

By Barb Stuckey (Free Press)In what she calls “the passionate eater’s guide to why food tastes good,” Barb Stuckey explains how all of us can get more enjoyment from what we eat. She looks at the anatomy of taste—what’s going on in your nose, mouth and mind when you eat. Did you know that food tastes less salty and less sweet with loud noise in the background? (That’s one of the explanations for awful airline food.) Also, taste inclinations can be inherited. Stuckey says that the most important thing she learned while writing this book is that “We Americans don’t appreciate the flavor of food.” She says we need to integrate taste appreciation into our school systems and in the way we raise our children. “Taste appreciation,” she says, “will help you be a better eater, as well as help you eat better.” And that, of course, has countless implications these days.

By Amy Stewart (Algonquin)The author of “Wicked Plants” and “Wicked Bugs” has moved on to earthworms — just in time for all that summer gardening! With the same attention to detail and things you probably don’t already know, she takes readers on an underground journey to meet the humble, yet vitally important, earthworm. Spineless, deaf and blind, the earthworm has profound effects on our ecosystem, destroying plant diseases, plowing the earth and more. Plus, earthworms survived two mass extinctions, including the one that took out the dinosaurs! Inspired by Charles Darwin, who also had a high regard for the lowly earthworm, Stewart writes with humor, intelligence and a great deal of enthusiasm. “The Earth Moved” will move you in ways you don’t expect. You’ll certainly look at this most unassuming creature in a whole new way.